I have a very good recipe for homade soap that is mild on the skin and great for your hair, and can take out most stains. i got it from my 80 year old grandmother 20 years ago when she didn't want to make it anymore because of the labor involved. I have it down to about a 30 minute task. Real old world lye soap! It is the Bomb!

Here's the reciepe: 11 cups of Fat, (bacon or plain lard, lard makes a nicer bar )
5 cups Distilled water
1 can Red Devil Lye
1/2 half cup amonia ( optional, I don't normally use it )
1/2 cup powdered Borax, ( also optional, but is good )
Place water in a non-metallic bowl. Add one at a time, stirring constantly, Lye-Amonia-Borax. In another non-metallic bowl heat fat to 90 degrees. When both are at 85-90 degrees, stir fat into Lye solution stirring constantly. When creamy, pour into non metallic mold...shoe boxes lined with wax paper are good. I have used plastic ice cube trays also. You can add any oil essence at the end if you want fragrance. This is a great homeade soap that is good for bathing and makes your hair soft and shiny!

"A lot of people remember the harshness of ``Grandma's old lye soap". Modern day ``lye soap" (redundant, since technically ALL true soap is LYE soap!!) is mild and gentle. The difference is in modern technology - being able to measure the ingredients to 1/10 of an ounce - and the quality and strength accuracy of lye available now. ``Grandma" used to test her lye by floating an egg in the lye and water mixture. If the egg floated, the lye was strong enough to make soap. But there was no gauge for being TOO strong, hence some soaps were ``lye heavy" and harsh."